Manu as an Argentinian deodorant pitchman

Shortly before the Spurs left on the Rodeo Road Trip, it was hard not to notice that Manu Ginobili had come back groomed and ready.

Unlike throughout most of the season, his beard was gone. We had seen him look like this only a couple of times this season.

It turns out there’s a reason.

Ginobili’s clean image was there for a reason. He just filmed a commercial for Gillette in Spanish targeted to consumers back in his home country of Argentina. It’s titled “The Manu Ginobili Manifesto.”

My Spanish isn’t as good as I would like, but it seems that he was telling me that his deodorant is providing him with the confidence to raise his arms. It’s not a rare claim for a deodorant endorser — remember “raise your hands if you’re Sure” for the old-school product Sure.

The Spurs’ multi-talented guard is one of the most well-versed pitchmen to play for this franchise. He can sell high-speed internet services, milk and potato chips as fluently in English as deodorant back in his home country.

Heck, as beloved as Ginobili is in South Texas, he might be able to spell space heaters to Spurs fans in the middle of July and still be credible in their eyes.